


Soul Providence

by scyler23



Category: Bleach
Genre: Cannon Diveregance, Changes the whole story from the time of the Mugetsu, Ichigo can actually cortol his powers, shapr shifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-26 10:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2648900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scyler23/pseuds/scyler23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichigo Has lost his Soul Reaper powers and is living a normal life. Then when his school gets attacked by Hallows he gains them back. He becomes captain of the 14th Division  the Head Captain makes a whole new division just for him  and he saves the world, like he always does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shimmer

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there guys! I know what you're gonna say; why does she write so much? Well, the answer to that question is I just can't stop. :D Bad answer I know, but it's the truth. Anyway I hope you all like this and I apologize for the shortness of this chapter.

Ichigo sat lightly on his bed, thinking about the times he had spent with Rukia. He missed having her around, and going out on missions with her. But because he had lost all of his Soul Reaper powers, all of that was gone. Now Karin had all the spiritual power, and he was just some relatively average Joe. He still had all of the physical strength that he had gotten from all of his Soul Reaper training but that was about it.

 

Standing up, he began getting ready for school. Grabbing his bag, he moved toward the door. Before his hand touched that handle, a strange sound drifted over to him from his window. Glancing back, he saw two or three human shaped apparitions. He couldn't see them clearly, but he could hear them perfectly .

 

"I still can't believe that he lost all of his powers. I wish he could still see us, if only to wipe that sad look off of his face. And so I could give him a big hug."

 

"I know me too. But we have to go. We have a mission to carry out here, and we don't have any time to waste."

 

"Yeah, let's go. He can't see us, so let's just forget him for now." As the apparitions left, Ichigo realized that he knew those voices. They had belonged to Rukia, Renji, and Rangiku! Shaking his head, Ichigo took off for school. Uryu, Orihime, Chad, and all of his other friends were waiting for him.

 

"Hey," Ichigo greeted his friends. "Come on, let's go. If we don't leave now, we're going to be late." Nodding his friends followed him, all talking at once to each other. Tatsuki was defending Orihime from Chizuru, Keigo was complaining to Mizuiro about not having a girlfriend, and Uryu was talking quietly to Chad. All was peaceful, for now.


	2. Blur

Ichigo and his friends walked into the school building and into a cascade of voices asking what was going on. Soon they were completely surrounded and getting mobbed with questions. All of them were getting pushed and shoved down the hall to their class room. It was completely destroyed. All of the desks had been smashed, the windows broken and a lot of things had been thrown out the shattered windows.

 

Orihime, Chad, and Uriyu tensed as they took in the scene. Suddenly Orihime called on Lilly, Baigon, and Hinagiku to protect them. The orange barrier snaps into place in front of them.

 

Then Uriyu stepped around it and his bow appeared in his hand. To Ichigo it was a blurry blue shape in his friend's hand, along with Chad's arms. He had also activated his powers.

 

He and Uriyu took offensive positions in front of the shield. Then the three Soul Reapers who had been in his room joined them. It was a bit easier to see them now and he confirmed that they were Renji, Rukia, and Rongiku. Rukia had gotten a little bit taller and now stood at Orhime's height.

 

"Ichigo! Get the other students out of here! We know you want to help but since you lost your powers you can't fight Hallows anymore. Just clear this area of the building. We'll handle the Hollows!" Uriyu said firing two of his Quincy arrows at Hollow.

 

Nodding Ichigo stepped out into the hall. The other students were standing there looking terrified. Tatsuki, Keigo, Chizuru and Mizuiro were trying to push everyone back toward the stairs but without any luck. They all kept pushing back into the hall, clearly trying to see what was going on in the classroom.

 

"Hey! Everyone needs to get out of this building now! There are people here who want to blow the building up! We need to get out now! Everyone has to get to the ground floor and outside! No one is to be left behind! GET MOVING NOW!" Ichigo called out loudly over the clamor of voices in the hall.

 

All of the people looked at him for a minute then they started to move toward that stairs. There was a lot of pushing and shoving to get down the steps. Some of the students fell and almost got missed when the kids at the back were picking up their fallen friends. Soon all of them were outside still panicking like crazy.

 

Ichigo was right there with them but he wasn't panicking. He was just worried about his friends who had stayed behind to try to get rid of the Hallows. They were risking their lives trying to protect all of the students in their class. Despite the fact that Rukia, Renji, and Rongiku were there they still seemed to be having a hard time.

 

Another desk flew through one of the windows. It sailed right toward the students, aiming for a young freshmen girl. Ichigo moved on impulse toward her. At the same time he moved Rukia shot out of the window following the desk. Ichigo caught the girl broad side and the desk slammed into his shoulder before Rukia could slice it with her Zanpakuto.

 

He fell over hearing her call out his name and feeling blood ooze down his shoulder. Rukia dropped down in front of him resting a hand on his shoulder ever so lightly. Blood slipped between her fingers and stained the white part of her shihakusho red. Moving his shirt slightly she was able to see the extent of the wound.

 

When the desk had connected with his shoulder the sheer force of impact had made the skin split open. Not only that but there where splinters of fake wood imbedded in the wound as well. Quickly Rukia stated pulling the splinters out, constantly glancing around to make sure that no one was looking at Ichigo. After pulling a particularly large one out Ichigo shifted slightly.

 

The way he shifted made it easy for him to see her if he had his powers. She glanced at his face and saw a slight smile there. Then she looked away and finished pulling the splinters out of his arm. He didn't let on that he could see her but was surprised when she actually ripped off on of the sleeves of her shihakusho. Quickly and easily she wrapped it around his shoulder.

 

When she had finished he noticed that it had become visible. The black and white fabrics were clearly visible to him and to the people around him. Rukia started to get up but Ichigo caught her wrist. Looking down at him realization started to dawn on her.

 

"Ichigo, you can see me, can't you?" were to only words that came out of her mouth.

 

"Yeah, sort of. You are a little blurry but I can see you." he replied with a smile.

 

Her free hand went to her mouth at those words. Suddenly she realized that he had seen Renji and Rongiku with her when they had been at his house. He could see this realization in her eyes and nodded lightly. Tears streamed lightly down her face at that point. He could see her and that was proof enough that he was regaining his powers.


	3. Zangetsu

It had been about three days since Rukia had discovered that Ichigo was regaining his powers. It had lifted her heart higher than ever before. With the return of Ichigo's powers she and Renji visited him often. The three of them would sit and talk for hours on end. At one point Rukia followed through on her statement she made when she Renji and Rangiku had come to the World of The Living.

 

The next time Ichigo saw her she was on a mission. There was one small catch: she got seriously hurt doing the mission. He only found that out when she tumbled through his window. Like always he had come home from school and went straight to his room. The next thing he knew was Rukia falling through his window covered in blood.

 

Catching her he called downstairs to Yuzu and Karin, "Yuzu! Karin! Call dad! NOW!"

 

Both girls reacted to his tone of voice. Karin called their dad and Yuzu went to their brother's room. She opened the door with a soft "Ichigo?". Looking around she gasped. Rukia was collapsed on the floor in Ichigo's arms. Her face was hard to see because of all the blood that covered it. Also her body was very bloody and the full evidence of that was the pale grey jacket of Ichigo's uniform was turning red.

 

"Rukia! Oh my...! What happened?" she asked dropping down decide them.

 

"I have no idea! She just dropped in on me from my window!" Ichigo said gently shifting Rukia's limp form in his arms so that he could pick her up.

 

"Ichigo! Yuzu! Dad is on the way! I just told him that something was wrong here but I didn't tell him exactly what it was since I didn't know. Is that OK?" Karin said coming up stairs.

 

She also gasped when she saw Rukia. The question was clear in her eyes. She also wanted to know what happened but he couldn't say because he didn't know. He shifted her weight slightly and moved down stairs. The girls ran ahead so that they could make a place for her in the clinic. Just was Ichigo set her down Isshin Kurosaki came in.

 

"What happened? I'll have you girls know that I was in the middle of something important." he was stopped short be the sight of his son.

 

Seeing him covered in blood freaked him out. As he opened his mouth to ask Ichigo shook his head and pointed into the clinic. He moved to the door of the clinic and blanched when he was Rukia. Turning to Ichigo his eyes asked the question of, "Is that blood hers?" Ichigo nodded solemnly. With a nod he turned back to Rukia.

 

"Ichigo, go get cleaned up. I'll take care of Rukia." Isshin said closing the door.

 

After a long shower Ichigo left the house for a few hours. He was walking slowly down the street and after a minute he felt a weird spike of Reiatsu. Stooping he felt another spike. This time it was the Reiatsu of a Hollow.

 

When he realized that the massive beast stepped around the corner in front of him. Though his powers were returning he still didn't know if he had all of them back. The Hollow suddenly lunged at him, its mask open and ready to eat his soul.

 

Ichigo reacted in the same way he would have if he was a Soul Reaper. Leaping over the Hollows head he lifted his right arm like he was holding Zangetsu. The next thing he knew the Hollow was disintegrating because it had been sliced in half. A soft light pulsed in his right hand.

 

There was a glowing blade in his hand shaped just like Zangetsu. As soon as he looked at it the blade vanished. Shaking his head he turned and ran home, wondering what the hell he did.

 

When he got home his dad and sisters had finished patching up Rukia. From the look on his dad's face he could tell that Rukia was still unconscious. A relived look dominated his face, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.

 

The happy looks on his family's faces disappeared when they all felt a powerful Reiatsu enter the house. Yuzu looked around, trying to find the source. Eventually Karin found the source: it was a Senkaimon in Ichigo's room. She called to him and he was up the stairs in a flash.

 

Just as he got there the gate opened up, revealing who was coming to visit. It was Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki. Renji looked worried and as usual Byakuya's face showed no emotion but his eyes showed his worry. The reason they where there was obvious.

 

"Come on. Fallow me. Oh, please close the Senkaimon. The Reiatsu released from it could only make things worse." Ichigo said turning toward the stairs.

 

As he moved down the stairs he heard the light click of the gate closing the soft release of Reiatsu as it vanished. Renji had already moved to fallow Ichigo, so it was Byakuya who closed the gate. Soon he was also fallowing Ichigo. The small party moved quickly down the stairs and through the hall. Byakuya was getting more agitated by the second it seemed.

 

Before the Captain could have a nervous breakdown Ichigo opened the clinic door. Both of them moved into the room slowly. Byakuya hung back just a little, letting Renji see his sister first. Turning to Ichigo he looked very concerned. Renji stood next to her bed looking upset.

 

"Ichigo, when did this happen? How did this happen?" were Byakuya's first questions.

 

"I have absolutely no idea. She just fell through my window like that. Well, not cleaned and bandaged but you know what I mean. She showed up injured and unconscious." Ichigo said with a shake of his head.

 

Looking into the room Byakuya's face changed slowly from anger to worry. The concerned look on his face made Ichigo just a little bit worried himself. The Sixth Division Captain almost never looked this way.

 

"Hey, Byakuya are you alright? You look kind of weird." Ichigo asked stepping slightly in front of the Captain.

 

"I-I'm fine. Why do you ask?" he replied, clearly surprised by Ichigo's question.

 

"Well, you let your lieutenant go see YOUR sister first, and the fact that you almost always have a totally emotionless face. So as I said before you look weird." the orange haired boy replied stepping further into the room.

 

Tightening his jaw Byakuya wiped all emotion from his face. Renji was standing silently beside Rukia's bed. His face was clouded with worry for his childhood friend. Stepping forward Ichigo set his hand on the lieutenant's shoulder. Turning Renji looked at him wondering if she was going to be OK and was rewarded with a nod and a smile.

 

About two or three hours later Renji was still beside Rukia and Byakuya was half asleep in a chair on the other side. He glanced at the clock, wondering when she was going to wake up. As soon as that thought crossed his mind Rukia stirred. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked around the room a little dazed.

 

Then her eyes settled on Renji and she smiled slightly. Gently he helped her into a sitting position. When she moved the slight sound caused Byakuya to wake up. Seeing her awake and sitting up caused a smile to flash across his face.

 

"Hold on a second Rukia. I'll go wake Ichigo up. He's in his room passed out on his bed." Renji said smiling.

 

"OK. I'll be sitting here when you get back, as if I have anything better to do." she said with a slight sarcastic note to her tone.

 

Shaking his head the Sixth Division lieutenant left the room and went to go kick Ichigo awake, with a little bit of emphasis on kick. Opening the door Renji found Ichigo pretty much just like he left him, sprawled out on his bed. With another shake of his red head he set about his task of waking him up. There were several things he tried but they had no effect so he just decided to kick him awake.

 

Leaping up onto the window sill he positioned himself for a good shot at the orange haired kid's side. With one swift kick he was thrown off the bed and wide awake in an instant. To Renji's surprise he actually landed on his feet. That seemed to catch both of them by surprise because the look on Ichigo's face said that he was very surprised.

 

"Well, looks like you have cat-like reflexes right now. Anyway, Rukia is awake and I told her that I would go wake you up so she could talk to you." Renji said dropping down onto the floor.

 

Getting up Ichigo responded, "Thanks, but did you really have to kick me?"

 

"Yeah I did. You are almost impossible to wake up."

 

Both walked down the stairs arguing about who was harder to wake up. The last person they go to was Isshin. According to Ichigo it was even harder to get his dad up than it was to get him up. Before they could go on any farther they walked into Rukia's room. She had been talking with Byakuya but as soon as Renji and Ichigo walked in they stopped.

 

Looking up she smiled lightly at her two friends. Ichigo smirked while Renji's face split into a big, if not slightly goofy, smile. Shaking his head the orange hired boy stepped forward to stand next to her. The look in her eyes said her feelings. Nodding slightly he glanced at her arms and neck. She cocked her head a little bit to the right; the gesture was clearly questioning his look.

 

"Just a personal once over to see if Dad needs to change your bandages." was all he said.

 

"Oh, well what do you say? Am I still good for a while?" she asked her voice taking on a sarcastic tone.

 

"Yeah, you're fine. Though I'll bet you anything that Dad is going to change them in about an hour or so."

 

"Seriously? In an hour or so? Why?" she questioned looking freaked out.

 

"Easy. It has been about four or five hours since he first put them on. You had been bleeding really badly when you went and fell through my window." he responded setting a hand lightly on her shoulder, which he knew was also covered in bandages.

 

"I knew that I was badly hurt but I didn't know how badly. Do you know how badly?"

 

Watching him shake his head she realized that only his dad and sisters knew how badly she was hurt. They talked for a while and it seemed like they had forgotten that they were not alone. Then they got to the topic of his powers. At this the other two Soul Reapers tuned in and leaded forward slightly.

 

"I got attacked by a Hollow today." Ichigo said in a nonchalant manner.

 

"What? You did? Why didn't you say so sooner?" Rukia exclaimed sitting a little higher.

 

"I didn't say anything because I didn't get hurt. Somehow I was able to destroy it. I have almost no idea how. The only thing I know is that a weird glowing gold version of Zangetsu appeared in my hand." he said looking at his right hand almost like he was expecting the gold blade to appear again.

 

"Wow. I wonder what that means. Do you know, Captain?" Renji asked, butting into the conversation.

 

"I have no idea. I think you and I need to return to the Soul Society, Renji." Byakuya said standing slowly.

 

"Yes, Captain." Renji fallowed his captain's lead and stood, turning to fallow him as he did.

 

The two left the room stepping lightly back up to Ichigo's room. Ichigo and Rukia felt the short burst of Reiatsu as Byakuya summoned the Senkaimon that would take them home. Glancing at the orange haired young man at her side Rukia decided to ask further about what happened with the Hallow. They talked for a little while about it but no matter how much she tried all of his responses regarding the Hallow incident were very guarded. She was about to ask him another question when her stomach growled loudly.

 

"Ha. I guess you are hungry then. Hold on a sec and I'll go get you something to eat. Just sit tight, OK?" Ichigo laughed lightly leaving the room.

 

Looking down she nodded slowly. Sitting tight was the only thing she was able to do right now. He came back with a sandwich in one hand and a soda in the other. Looking at it and realizing that she wasn't actually that hungry she tilted her head to the side. Handing the food and drink to her Ichigo sat down in the chair that her brother had so recently vacated.

 

Looking at her he voiced a question, "What were you going to ask before your stomach interrupted you?"

 

Stopping in mid-bite Rukia looked at him surprised, "Well, I was going to ask about the incident but I changed my mind. Instead I was going to ask if you would help me on this mission. I can't do it by myself it seems."

 

"Sure, I'll help," he said, eyes lighting up, "What do I need to help you with?"

 

"Actually, getting rid of the Hollow. That will require you to be in Soul Reaper form. I just hope that all of your powers are back and that I am not making a really big mistake."

 

"I have a feeling that all of my powers are back so don't worry about it. Should we take care of it as soon as you are finished?"

 

"The sooner the better." was all she needed to say.

 

After she finished Rukia stood lightly in front of Ichigo, a familiar red glove on her hand. Stepping forward she placed her gloved hand on Ichigo's chest. With a gentle push she separated his soul from his body. Glancing at him she saw that it was Soul Reaper Ichigo instead of normal Ichigo standing in front of her.

 

Smiling she said, "Welcome back Ichigo."

 

"I told you not to worry. Now, let's go get rid of a Hollow." he said drawing Zangetsu lightly from behind his back.


	4. Crap!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter four! YAY!!!! I hope you all like this chapter because they are all starting to get longer and a lot more stuff is happening. So please read and fill out that lovely little form at the bottom and tell me what you think.

"Where is it, Rukia?" Ichigo called, running lightly in front of his still injured friend.

 

"Hold on! I'm looking for it. Dammit! I can't seem to locate it. You try, Ichigo." she said looking very frustrated.

 

Glancing back Ichigo saw that she was furiously checking the communicator, trying to find the Hollow’s Reiatsu. He was about to apologize when her face light up and guessed that she had found it. She looked up at him then turned in the direction of the Hollow. Though she had gotten ahead of him he followed behind her, letting her take the lead until they came upon their target.

 

Without warning the creature leapt out in front of them, startling Rukia. As it stepped closer to her Ichigo stepped out from behind her and swung Zangetsu at its head. The blade sliced easily through the white mask, causing the Hollow to roar. Then it disintegrated slowly.

 

"Thanks Ichigo. It came way too fast for me to do anything about it. I mean, I would have if I had reacted faster but..." Rukia's voice trailed off, leaving a bit to be inferred.

 

"Relax, don't worry about it. It's a good thing I was here then, right? Now I have a question, how did that weak little Hollow beat you so badly?" Ichigo asked sheathing Zangetsu lightly.

 

"It got the drop on me. I wasn't prepared for it and it took advantage of that. After it attacked I couldn't focus and it beat me." she admitted reluctantly, bowing her head.

 

"Like I said, don't worry about it. Just be glad that it didn't kill you when you first saw it." he said shaking his head and stepping toward her.

 

"Yeah, I know. I was lucky. Thank you for that, by the way." she said turning, her face a little red.

 

Cocking his head lightly to one side, then he shrugged and started for home. After a moment Rukia was at his side. They were silent for a while but then Rukia started talking about what had transpired between her and her brother. He had just been talking to her and was concerned for her welfare.

 

When they returned home Rukia had to return to the Soul Society to report in. Byakuya had told her that the Head Captain wanted her to report in in person. She thought that it was because he wanted to see if she was OK. Opening a Senkaimon she took off.

 

Upon reaching the Soul Society she made straight for the Squad One building. Opening the door she stepped lightly in. Head Captain Ukitake looked up from his mountain of paperwork. His face softened when he saw her.

 

"Rukia, it's good to see you are well. Now, your report." he said standing slowly.

 

"Well, the Hollow has been defeated. Oh, and Ichigo has fully regained his powers. He was the one who helped me to defeat it. I'm not sure if he has his Bankai back but I do know that he has the rest of his powers." she said softening slightly.

 

"Good. Do you think that we should send him to the Academy?" he asked pulling a small packet of papers from his desk.

 

"Yes, I think he should go. It would do him some good." she said taking the packet from him and smiling.

 

"Go and tell him that he is needed here after you get him to fill all of this out. I want it to be a surprise. Besides, he won't come willingly. You and I both know that. He's just too stubborn sometimes." Ukitake said going back to his desk to restart his paperwork.

 

Rukia bowed and left the room. A small smile split her face as she returned to the World of the Living. The Senkaimon opened right into Ichigo's basement. That would have been a good thing if not for the fact that the basement was a mess. It would be difficult for her to get out without hurting herself further.

 

After a few minutes Isshin and Ichigo both came down stairs. They started to move all of the crap that was littering the basement. Soon a path had been cleared to the Senkaimon and Rukia followed them up the stairs and into the day-light.

 

Shortly after they got upstairs Ichigo noticed the packet of paper in her hand. When he asked who it was for she just looked at it for a moment then handed it to him with the simple order of, "Fill this out please. When you finish come find me." Walking off he was very confused as to her blunt reaction.

 

"Jeez. Why do I have to fill this out? It looks like a school application. Why would she give this to me? Well, if she gave me such a blunt answers and those orders then I should get it done quickly." he said filling out the packet at his desk.

 

When he was finished he brought it down to Rukia, who was in the kitchen talking to Karin and Yuzu. The looked like they were having an interesting conversation. Stepping in they stopped talking and Rukia stood up. She took the packet from him and motioned for him to follow her.

 

"What was that all about, Rukia? Why did you have me fill that stuff out?" he asked as they walked down stairs again.

 

"Well, the Head Captain wanted you fill it out and I was just the messenger. Now, where is Kon?" she asked looking around for the stuffed lion that contained the mod-soul.

 

"He's upsati…" Ichigo was cut off as the mod-soul in question came running down the stairs yelling Rukia's name.

 

She stepped on him without any hesitation, pulling out a familiar red glove at the same time. When she did that it was evident that Ichigo was required to go to the Soul Society with her. Once Kon had switched bodies and Ichigo was in soul form they left. Kon was given specific instructions not to leave the house. It was unlikely that he was going to follow those instructions but they tried.

 

Upon arrival in the Soul Society Ichigo was mobbed by all of his Soul Reaper friends. The first person to come up to him was Rangiku and she practically suffocated him with the force of her hug. Soon he was dragged away from her by the Squad Ten captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya. Looking at the young captain he saw a smile splitting his face. The message was clear from all of his friends, welcome back Ichigo.

 

Then Ukitake came up and took the papers form Rukia and dismissed everyone but Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo was confused by this but ignored the feeling as they walked to the Squad One building. Once there the Head Captain locked the door. That was enough to make him nervous. Rukia was looking innocent and wandered around the room.

 

"Wh- what is this all about you two?" Ichigo asked getting really nervous.

 

"Well, didn't you think that the forms you filled you were like a school application form?" came Rukia's voice from the other side of the room.

 

"Yeah, the thought crossed my mind several times. Why?"

 

"Well, it was a school application form." Ukitake said looking very evil due to the look on his face, "You will be taking the Soul Reaper Academy entrance exam in about ten minutes."

 

They both watched Ichigo's eyes widen to the point that they almost seemed like they were going to pop out of his head. Rukia recognized that look, he was getting ready to blow up on them. As soon as she thought that he blew up. It took nearly ten minutes to calm him down. When he was calm they negotiated with the Academy representative who came about what he was going to do.

 

They were able to get the representative to agree that Ichigo didn't have to wear the uniform. Then, he took the exam. The representative was blown away by Ichigo's skill and power. Even after all of this time he was still amazing and still had all of this power. It was clear that he had passed for the look on the reps. face. Rukia smiled and lightly applauded him. Ukitake was talking to the Headmaster and he was going to make an announcement to all of the students about Ichigo's arrival. Academy life was about to get interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that for getting something started? Well, I hope to hear from you guys about how this story goes so please fill out that little box at the bottom and tell me what you think! Thanks guys!


	5. I Hate School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Chapter five! Ichiro goes back to school. Well, he never left but who cares. Ichigo has to go through Academy training now! Woohoo! Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter and will leave a comment or two. Thanks and enjoy!

Ichigo walked into the Academy and immediately felt like he really didn't belong there. All of the kids were giving him funny looks. Everyone seemed to think that he was a full Soul Reaper and that he screwed up. That meant he had messed up so bad that he was sent back to the Academy for remedial lessons. They were all dead wrong.

 

When he walked into the class room everyone stopped talking and stared at him. At first a lot of them thought that he was the teacher, but that thought vanished when he walked to the back of the room. Talking resumed until the real teacher walked in. She quieted the class then called Ichigo forward. Getting up he walked to the front to stand next to the teacher. There was a bit of snickering and soft laughter as he passed. Masera-Sensei introduced him to the class and when she asked if he wanted to say something about himself, he refused.

 

Almost all of the girls immediately fell for him, about one-third of the boys looked at him in awe, and the other two-third of the boys hated him. As he walked back to the back of the room he felt all of the girls' eyes on his back and some of the boys eyes as well. When he sat down the Masera-Sensei could tell that the class would be distracted for the rest of the day so she decided that they should all go out and spar.

 

They all went outside and partnered up. All of the girls asked Ichigo if they could be his partner but all of them got turned down. After the most popular girl, Serin, asked him to be her partner he just walked away. Masera-Sensei just nodded at him as he left the group. Serin and her friends all fallowed him. When he got far away from the group he un-sheathed Zangetsu.

 

"Miss Serin, don't you think that we should be sparring and not watching Ichigo?" one of the girls said glancing at him through the trees.

 

"Relax, Riri. We are taking notes on how he moves and his form so we can better ourselves. Got it?" Serin said giving Riri a sharp look.

 

Riri nodded and sat back. Some of the other girls were taking notes, like Serin said they were supposed to do. Soon she was able to tell if he was all of his strength. As it turned out he was using all of his strength.

 

When he swung their direction the trees shuddered and swayed from the force. Serin realized that if he found out that they had been watching him he would be very pissed. As she was about to tell the girls to get up another Soul Reaper walked into the clearing.

 

It was Rukia Kuchiki, the younger sister of Byakuya Kuchiki. She stepped close to him and lightly waved. He stopped and sheathed Zangetsu with a fluid wave of his arm.

 

"Hey, Ichigo. Are you OK?" she asked looking closely at his face.

 

"Yeah…I'm fine. I'm just really tiered and sore. I'll be fine though." He said, wiping his forehead on his sleeve.

 

"Here, I thought that you might be thirsty too." Rukia said holding out a bottle of water.

 

"Thanks. I needed that." Ichigo replied, taking the bottle. He drained half of it in one gulp.

 

Serin and her friends took off lightly into the trees. The two Soul Reapers fallowed them back to the group of students. When the whole group was assembled Masera-Sensei glanced at all of them. She smiled softly seeing that all of them were back, and relatively unharmed. Then she noticed that most of them weren't even tiered. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but then she caught sight of Ichigo and Rukia.

 

Ichigo had clearly been working his butt off. This gave her an idea. Most of her class was really not going to like it but, what the hey. This was going to be fun.

 

"Class," she called lightly to all of them, "I have decided to give all of you, except for Ichigo, homework. Before you start complaining all of you are getting homework because you didn't practice hard enough. The only one of you all who actually seemed to do anything is Ichigo."

 

The entire class started grumbling as soon as Masera-Sensei said 'homework'. It got worse when she said that Ichigo was exempt from the homework. They glanced at him and saw him down the rest of the bottle. He really did look like he was totally exhausted.

 

That seemed to calm most of them down. The other just seemed to get more pissed off. Rukia left to get him another three bottles of water and the teacher decided to move to the kido training field. They all moved off chatting lightly. Ichigo saw this one girl with red hair and a hat looking at him. Serin dropped back when she saw him looking at the other girl.

 

"So, I see that you've noticed Adalyn. She might be in the Academy but I seriously don't think that she will ever be a real Soul Reaper. I mean, she doesn't even have a Zanpakuto. All she has is that necklace. It makes no sense to me whatsoever." She said trying to loop her arm through his.

 

"You never know. Her Zanpakuto might be sealed in a secondary form." Ichigo said stepping toward Adalyn and away from Serin.

 

Serin looked a little pissed off and just a tiny bit disappointed. He walked up to her and started talking to her. When he did Adalyn's face lit up at the fact that he was talking to her. They carried on back and forth until they reached the kido practice field.

 

Automatically most of the kids clamored around Ichigo. They all thought that he knew all of the different kido, bakudo and hado. Try as he might to tell them they were wrong his classmates wouldn't listen. Eventually he lost it and in doing so released a powerful wave of Reiatsu.

 

When she could see again Adalyn and all of the other students looked at Ichigo. His hair was no longer orange. It was now pure white and a little bit longer than before. Also one of his eyes was now gold instead of brown.

 

"Ichigo? Are you OK?" Adalyn asked coming up to him.

 

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" was his reply.

 

"Well… Your hair is longer and it's white. Oh, and one of your eyes is golden." She said looking at him.

 

He stared at her as his now two colored eyes widened. His head snapped to look at Masera-Sensei and she nodded. Using shunpo he took off. Serin and Adalyn looked at the spot that he had just vacated in amazement.

 

Ukitake was currently buried under a mound of paperwork when a loud knocking at his door startled him. He called out to whoever it was to come in. It was Ichigo and he actually looked scared. There was something else about him that made him look different. Then it hit him, Ichigo's hair was white and one eye was gold in color. That was not good.

 

"Ichigo, what happened?" asked pulling him quickly into his office.

 

"I lost it at the kido practice fields. The other students seem to think that I know all of the kido, bakudo, and hado. I don't, which is the problem." Ichigo said sitting down on the couch.

 

"That is not good at all. What did the others think about the hair and eye?" Ukitake asked as he sent someone to get Captain Unohana.

 

"They just thought that something happened when I let loose that wave of Reiatsu." he said his face in his hands.

 

After a few minutes of the two of them talking there was a soft knock on the door. Ukitake called for whoever it was to come in. The door opened and the captain of Squad 4 walked in.

 

She glanced at Ukitake then at Ichigo. A surprised look crossed her face when she saw him. Stepping over to him her eyes lingered on his white hair. Unohana knew of his Hollow side, Ichigo himself had told her about him.

 

Now Ichigo's hair matched that of his Hollow. The two of them talked for a while about what happened. To the Squad 4 captain it seemed like stress had caused Hichigo to surface a bit more than usual. The more they talked the more it seemed that Hichigo started to gain more control over Ichigo.

 

"Ichigo, I need you to try and relax. That might help you return to normal." Unohana said putting a hand on his shoulder.

 

"OK. I'll try." He replied with a deep breath.

 

After a moment he relaxed completely and his shoulders slumped. Then his hair returned to normal length and color, followed by his eye. Captain Unohana almost felt Hichigo flip out and try to stop Ichigo from regaining control.

 

When he lifted his head he was normal. Ukitake relaxed and Unohana smiled. Ichigo could tell that Hichigo was pissed off right now. It took all of Zangetsu's strength to hold him back.

 

After about five minutes Unohana said he was in control enough to return to the kido practice field. He glanced at the Head Captain who nodded. Ichigo stood with a nod of thanks to both captains and left. Once outside he used shunpo to return to the field.

 

Once again all of the kids swarmed him, but this time he was prepared for them. They asked a lot of questions about what happened with the Reiatsu blast and why he took off. To that his response was simply, "I can't tell you."

 

They stopped asking after about the tenth time of being told that. Then Adalyn came up and asked what he could do, if he couldn't do any kido. He thought about that for a second then stepped forward, away from his classmates. They watched him with interest as he put his hands together.

 

He closed his eyes and concentrated. His hands moved on their own as he pulled his Reiatsu together. Moving his hands so that a ball formed in between them, he shifted his hands again and flattened out the ball. It turned into a flat disk that was black and red.

 

Pulling back his arm he opened his eyes. The target in front of him was a little too close but this wasn't the most powerful one he could do so it would be fin. Taking aim he pulled the disk back a little bit farther then he threw it. The target was completely vaporized.

 

There was a collective gasp from all of his classmates at this. Turning around Ichigo was bombarded with questions. How did he do it? What was it? What was it made of? How strong was it? He answered all of these questions with ease.

 

Before he could go on Masera-Sensei called the class to attention. She then began the day's kido lesson. Some of the students had a hard time getting even one shot off and other had no problem at all. Ichigo was among the few who got it on the first shot. Adalyn also got all of the new things on the first try.

 

The days went on as such, minus the major outburst from Ichigo, and all was good. Ichigo was really good at everything that was put in front of him. Though he still attended high school in the World of the Living he maintained top grades in both schools. Then came the day that all of his classmates hoped for: the test to see who could kill a Hollow.

 

As always it took place in the World of the Living. The place was an old factory that had been abandoned for years. It was really creepy there and a good place to test the trainees' skills. Ichigo didn't see the point in dong it himself but he was forced to come by Serin.

 

At first everything seemed to be going smoothly. The students were all doing well and Adalyn was showing off to a girl named Danni while Serin glared at them from the back ground. The youngest student there was named Zaku and she was doing OK for her age. Then things went horribly wrong.

 

An actual Hollow showed up and attacked the factory. It wasn't alone; there were about three Arrancar with it. All of them were really strong looking. The three students in charge of keeping the others safe were trying to get them all into the Senkaimon. This was not going to end well.

 

Ichigo stepped forward only to be pushed back by one of the three. His eyes narrowed slightly at that. This kid had no idea what he was doing or what he was dealing with.

 

"Hey, do you even know how to beat those Arrancar?" he asked looking incredulous.

 

"I do but I'm not strong enough to take them on. We need an actual Soul Reaper to take care of them." he said, pushing a girl through the gate.

 

"Are you blind? I'm a real Soul Reaper!" Ichigo said pulling the shihakusho he wore so that the other student could see it.

 

The boy's eyes widened as he saw it. This distraction was enough for Ichigo to slip past him and draw Zangetsu. The first Arrancar lifted its head as he came forward but it didn't get a chance to attack. Ichigo sliced it in two and turned to the other two. He killed one and was about to kill the other when a scream split the night.

 

He looked back and to his right. The girl Zaku was on the ground and the Hollow was looming over her. She was paralyzed with fear as it leaned closer. Cursing Ichigo used Prism Flash to blind the Arrancar as he took off to save Zaku.

 

The Hollow was almost on top of her when Ichigo flashed in front of it. The beast recoiled as a new target came into place. It roared and lunged at Ichigo who swing Zangetsu from the right with only one hand.

 

The blade was almost to the mask when Zaku cried, "Look out!" Ichigo glanced to his right and saw the Arrancar that he blinded swing at him. With Zangetsu in mid-swing he couldn't defend himself. The Arrancar's powerful claws buried into his side as the Hollow disintegrated. He then swung Zangetsu in a backhand way to slice the Arrancar at his side.

 

It vanished but left large bloody holes in his side. Looking back at Zaku he saw the fear and admiration in her eyes as she looked at him. Some of his blood was splashed across her face but she didn't notice. Despite his wound he turned and held out a hand. Zaku took it and he pulled her to her feet.

 

Soon they were all surrounded by the rest of the class. All of them were talking at once about who Ichigo singlehandedly defeated three Arrancar and a Hollow. None of them seemed to notice the gaping wound in his right side. Serin saw it as she tried to get closer to him.

 

"AHHHH! Ichigo, your hurt!" she cried pointing at his side. He glanced down and shrugged.

 

"I've had worse. Believe me, I have." he said waving her fluttering hand off.

 

She would have said something but was interrupted by a vice she knew well. It was Rukia and Renji. They were there to take care of the Hollow and Arrancars. The class separated and let them through to Ichigo. Both of their eyes widened at the sight of him. His side was all torn and bloody from the battle but other than that he was fine.

 

"God, Ichigo. What happened to you?" Renji asked looking at his side.

 

"An Arrancar attacked me while I was defending someone." was his reply.

 

"Looks like you saved the entire graduating class Ichigo. Well done." Rukia said with a slight smile.

 

"Yep. Seems as though I did." he said moving a hand lightly to his side.

 

"Let's all go back and you can have that taken care of." Renji said as he herded the class the Senkaimon.

 

"The Head Captain will love to hear about this."

 

"Yeah, he will indeed." Rukia said as she followed Ichigo through the gate and into the Soul Society.


	6. Good God, I Hate Paperwork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, now we get to the good stuff! I hope you all like this so far. I worked my butt off to get all of this down, Anyway, here we go! On with the show!

Ichigo and the others walked into the Soul Society near the edge of the Seireitei. Renji immediately took off to go and tell the Head Captain what had happened. Everyone else followed Ichigo to the Squad 4 barracks. He waited outside while Rukia went and got Uhohan's lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu.

 

Both of them came back to find Ichigo seated on the ground with a strange blond girl hanging on his arm. He glanced up and shook her off as he stood. Isane almost fell over at the sight of his side. She looked from the wound to his face with wide eyes.

 

"We need to get you inside and patched up now. Come on, follow me." she said waving for him to follow her.

 

Ichigo easily stepped though the crowd and fell into step behind her. She moved fast getting him to a room and having him sit down. Once he was seated she called to her captain. Captain Unohana walked in to a very surprising sight; Ichigo was seated on a bed with a massive, gaping hole in his side and all of his classmates were surrounding him.

 

She moved through them easily, they parted before her so she could get to him without fighting them. Ichigo allowed her to pull his shihakusho down, off of his shoulder and away from the wound. It was a lot bigger than it seemed when he had his shihakusho on. There were four holes running straight up his side. The blood had dried a bit right around the openings but the blood on his side was still liquid.

 

Shaking her head she cleaned the wound causing him to flinch and tighten up sharply. Some of the kids took on sympathetic looks as they watched. Isane noticed this one girl who was standing closer to Ichigo than all of the others. Her tri-colored hair stood out from all of the other students. That and the fact that she had some blood splashed across her face.

 

"Are you OK?" she asked moving over to her. She looked up at Isane with a scared look in her eyes then she nodded.

 

"Relax, Isane. It's my blood on her face. Ouch! *haa* When the Arrancar attacked me some of my blood flew her direction and it splattered on her face. Nothing major." Ichigo said wincing again, this time as the Squad 4 captain bound the wound tightly.

 

The lieutenant nodded then proceeded to clean her face with a warm cloth. After she finished the two of them started talking. At first Zaku seemed very shy and reluctant to talk but after a time she opened up to Isane. It was obvious that they were going to be good friends.

 

Soon Unohana stepped back form him and looked at all of the children. All of them seemed fine, just a little shook up. Noticing that all of them seemed to be worried about Ichigo she sighed. Lifting her head she told them that he was going to be fine. He just needed some rest. The entire group of students relaxed at that.

 

As soon as the found out that he was going to be fine they mobbed him with questions. He answered all of them easily, like he had more experience than he let on. He did but he was waiting for a certain question to tell them all about the role he played in the Winter War. Clearly none of them had recognized him as the hero of the War. Zaku pulled herself up next to him and asked the question he had been waiting for.

 

"Did you do any fighting in the Winter War?" she asked looking very innocent and sweet.

 

"Yes I did. I battled a ton of Arrancar and Hollow. The Espada gave me and my friends some difficulty but we beat them all." Ichigo replied patting her head.

 

The class stared at her then glanced at him. She had almost never spoken out in class because she was shy, yet here she was asking a relative stranger a question in front of the class. Then they registered what he said. He said that he had fought the Espada, the most powerful Arrancar that the traitor Aizen had created.

 

"Ichigo, are you the one they call a demon in battle?" Serin asked look nervous.

 

"Yes, I am. That's mostly because of the way I fight. Having a wild fighting style helped me out when I defeated Aizen in the final battle. The only bad thing was it resulted in me losing my soul reaper powers and becoming a normal person again." he said with a sad look in his eyes.

 

The realization dawned on all of them when he said all of that. He was the hero of the Winter War. The Soul Reaper who traded in his Zanpakuto for raw strength in order to defeat Aizen. They never knew that he had lost his power though. That was totally new to them.

 

They watched him absently pick up his Zanpakuto and look at in a forlorn way. Then his face hardened and he moved into a certain position, with Zangetsu across his lap. Ichigo closed his eyes and concentrated. Unohana, Isane and Rukia knew what he was doing as soon as he looked at Zangetsu.

 

The two Squad 4 officers shooed the students away, but Zaku refused to move from his side. She looked at Rukia, a question in her eyes. The older Soul Reaper sat beside her and told her what he was doing. It was simple; he was trying to talk to Zangetsu.

 

Suddenly a small burst of Reiatsu escaped from the bandages at his side. That made Zaku nervous but Rukia calmed her down saying it meant that he had entered his inner world. Both of them watched and waited for him to come back.

 

_Ichigo sat up feeling a bit stuff. It had been along time since he had tried to contact Zangetsu. Glancing around he saw Hichigo glaring at him. Zangetsu was behind him holding him back .Zangetsu looked a little peeved to see him but didn't say a word. It was clear why he was peeved. Ichigo had traded him in for power._

 

" _Old Man Zangetsu. I just wanted to say that I was sorry for what I did during the Winter War. I know that you wanted to protect me and then I went and traded you for power. That was selfish but… Anyway, I'm sorry. I really am." Ichigo said turning and preparing to return to his body._

 

" _Ichigo, wait." The voice was gentle but firm._

 

_Ichigo turned back around and looked at Zangetsu. He had thrown Hichigo off of the building and was walking toward him. It was clear in the way that he moved that he wanted to say something to him._

 

" _Now I think that it's my turn to say I'm sorry. I know you wanted to protect your friends and family. I was a little bit selfish in not talking to you before this. I was mad at you and had no reason to be. I'm sorry Ichigo. I really am." Zangetsu said looking at him carefully._

 

" _Thanks for the apology, Old Man. Are you still going to lend me your power? Or am I on my own?" Ichigo said smiling._

 

" _You still have my power, Ichigo. You will need me in the future. Now go, return to you body. There are some people waiting for you" the spirit of his sword said waving his hand in a dismissal gesture._

 

_Ichigo nodded and relaxed. His mind wandered and he vanished. Before his mind could wander too far a strong pull brought him back to his body. He dropped down and reconnected to his body and opened his eyes._

 

Zaku and Rukia watched him tensely for a moment then his eyes opened slowly. Both of them smiled and Zaku poked him lightly in the arm. He looked at her and smiled lightly. Rukia then poked him as well, a small smile on her face. He shook his head and sheathed Zangetsu. Zaku smiled as he stood up and pulled the top of his shihakusho back on.

 

"How long was I out?" Ichigo asked helping both women down.

 

"I would say about ten minutes, give or take a few minutes." Rukia said with a slight oomph.

 

"Well, that's not that long. Where is everybody else?" he asked looking around the room.

 

"They all got shooed outside. Zaku wouldn't budge so I just stayed to make sure nothing happened to either of you." she replied with a shrug.

 

The three of them walked out of the room. Soon they were swarmed by the class. All of them were asking why they had all been forced out and why Zaku was allowed to stay. Rukia explained diplomatically as best as she could. After about five minutes she seemed about to lose it, but right as she was about to blow her top they arrived at the Head Captains office.

 

Renji was in there, along with Unohana. The two of them were trying to explain what happened. Rukia walked in first, followed by Ichigo and the students. Serin and Adalyn were right behind Zaku, who stood at his side. Serin looked pissed off and Adalyn was smiling her ass off at Serin's obvious displeasure.

 

Ukitake looked up as they all came in. Ichigo looked a littler than usual but he looked fine otherwise. The students seemed to be freaking out despite that fact. Only three of them looked even remotely calm. Ichigo also looked really annoyed.

 

"Excuse me. I do believe that I need a slight explanation for today from one of you." he said sounding really annoyed.

 

"I have you explanation. A Hollow and three Arrancar attacked the training exercise today. I killed all three of them but got hurt defending one of the students. I didn't even need to use those two things I can do. Oh, yeah. I blinded one Arrancar with Prism Flash but it still managed to land a blow on me. It was a full strength Prism Flash too." Ichigo said stepping in between the two officers in front of him.

 

Ukitake's face changed as he said that one of the Arrancar had been blinded when it attacked him. That was a worrying statement. He then noticed Zaku had flinched when he said he was wounded while he was defending someone. Ichigo must have been protecting her.

 

"Well, that one thing you said worries me. About the Arrancar being blinded when it attacked you." he said putting a hand to his chin.

 

"I think it had been aiming for my head but since it was blinded it got me in the side instead. It still really hurt though." the young man in front of him said, his left arm moving to gently grasp his side.

 

"I can imagine it would. Anyway, all of you have the correct qualifications for graduating today. Therefore I called all of the Gotei 13 Captains here so you all can meet your Captains and their lieutenants."

 

As Ukitake said that the big door opened and all thirteen captains and their lieutenants stepped in. The class went nuts over the fact that they were all graduating. The Head Captain had them all line up, except for Ichigo, and he assigned them to their squads. Only three people didn't get assigned a squad. Ichigo saw the disappointment on the faces of Adalyn, Danni, and Zaku.

 

The three of them had really wanted to graduate with the rest of their class but it seemed like that was no going to happen. He was about to open his moth to say something when Byakuya put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. Ukitake stepped forward to the three who were left. They all tried to hide their disappointment.

 

"You all look disappointed. I think I know why. You three think that you aren't going to graduate."

 

The three girls looked down as he said that. He laughed lightly then said, "That is not true. You are graduating but you are going to a different squad than the thirteen you see here."

 

Adalyn's head snapped up as she asked, "What do you mean, sir?"

 

"What I mean is that there is going to be a new squad with a new captain. You three know him well. In fact, he's standing next to Captain Kuchiki." Ukitake said looking at Ichigo.

 

"WHAT? Are you serious? You are seriously going to make me a captain?" Ichigo exclaimed pulling away from Byakuya.

 

"Yes. You are strong enough to hold that position. In fact you are stronger than almost all of the captains in this room. That is, when your Reiatsu is fully released." the Head Captain said turning back to the three girls.

 

"Adalyn, I am assigning you to the third seat of the new Squad 14. Danni you are assigned to Squad 14's fifth seat. Zaku, I'm not sure if this will be OK for you but I am assigning you to be Ichigo's apprentice." Ukitake said motioning for them to go stand by their new captain.

 

"Why Is Zaku my apprentice, Ukitake? She is good enough to be a seated officer." Ichigo said, getting over the shock of being named a captain.

 

"I did that because she is just a little bit too fragile for the seated officer missions but too tough for the normal missions. An apprentice is right in the middle; the missions are not too hard nor are they to easy." the Squad 1 captain relied waving for him to follow him outside.

 

Everyone went outside after them. Ichigo caught up with Ukitake and asked what he was doing. The response surprised Ichigo; he was going to show his Bankai to all of the captains. It was different but then Ukitake explained that it was the proficiency test that most of the captains had to take. It was valid just so long as at least three captains, including himself watched.

 

Ichigo stood in the ring of captains and their lieutenants. Rukia was standing with Zaku, Adalyn, and Danni. The four of them stood apart from the captains and their new squad members. Everyone here except the new kids had all seen Ichigo's Bankai and now they all were going to see it.

 

Taking a deep breath Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu. He felt the familiar weight of the zanpakuto in his hand and the energy that thrummed through it. Closing his eyes he gathered his Reiatsu and concentrated. After a moment Zangetsu pulsed slightly, telling Ichigo that there was enough Reiatsu gathered.

 

Pulling Zangetsu in front of him Ichigo calmly said, "Bankai." Suddenly a vortex of wind surrounded him. When it dissipated Ichigo stood holing Zangetsu off to the side, his transformed shihakusho billowing in the wind. There were many astounded and astonished gasps from the new squad members. Adalyn, Danni and Zaku found themselves stating at their captain in wonder.

 

Adalyn noticed that there didn't seem to be anything special about his Bankai. Then she caught Ukitake's wave to Captain Kuchiki. The Squad 6 captain stepped forward and released his zanpakuto, Senbonzakura. Thousands of pink sakura petals surrounded him. Lifting his right arm Byakuya sent all of the petals flying at Ichigo.

 

The new captain seemed to move faster than light as he went to block all of the little blades that were thrown at him. It took him all of two seconds to send them all flying back to Byakuya. Everone except the captains and a few other stared at him in amazement. The way he moved was like nothing they had ever seen before.

 

There was evident grace that was balanced easily by power that seemed to emanate from the very air around Ichigo. No matter which angle the Squad 6 captain tried the petals were all deflected and Ichigo didn't seem to be tired in the least. It was amazing to watch and even more amazing to hear.

 

The sound of thousands of tiny blades hitting one larger blade was more than just a canopy of sound but it was almost like a musical instrument that hadn't been played in years. The way the two of them moved was like they had fought before and both had a reputation to uphold. Eventually Head Captain Ukitake called them to a stop.

 

Byakuya looked pissed off and Ichigo didn't even look tiered. The other captains were nodding lightly at Ichigo. The Head Captain glanced around and saw that all of the assembled captains were nodding in agreement. Ichigo's Bankai was genuine and was proof enough that he was qualified to be a captain.

 

"Ichigo, the other captains and I agree that your Bankai is real and now you can officially take on the role as Captain of Squad 14. Good luck to you and your new squad members." Ukitake said holding out his hand to the new captain.

 

"Thanks for the luck. I think I'm going to need it." Ichigo said shaking Ukitake's hand firmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! There you have it; Ichiro is now a captain! Yes I know there are some huge differences in this compared to the original story line! I wrote this before all the suit of the Thousand-Year Blood War stuff happens! Hell I don't even have anything about The Lost Substitute Shinigami stuff! I know that but now that I know about all of that stuff I'll try and find a way to work it in somehow. I just hope ya'll will stick around long enough for me to do that. Anyway, please leave a comment and tell me what you think.


	7. Meet the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, here's chapter 7! YAY!!! Thanks to all the people who've read and liked this fic! I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter!

Ichigo gathered his new squad members and asked Ukitake if he could take them back to his place. The white harked Soul Reaper nodded and opened the Senkaimon himself. Ichigo nodded his thanks and waved for his team to follow him. They moved closer but looked really skeptical.

 

A hand caught the orange haired captain's shoulder before he could step through the Senkaimon. He turned back to see Renji holding a white coat. It was the same kind of coat that all the captains wore. The red head handed the coat over with a small smile on his face.

 

Ichigo took the coat and allowed it to unfold. The sleeves were gone and the inside was the same deep red as the inside of Ichigo's Bankai. The number fourteen was emblazoned on the back in black kanji but it actually looked like a death dark red. This time it was the orange haired young man's turn to smile; it was clear that they had been planning this for a long time.

 

He glanced up at his friends and saw the looks on their faces. All of them were wondering what his reaction was going to be. His smile broadened and he slipped into the coat. The others smiled brightly and Rukia cheered with Renji. Danni, Adalyn, and Zaku smiled hugely as their captain turned to them.

 

"Come on, girls. I'll show you my town and you can meet my crazy family." Ichigo said sighing at the end.

 

The three of them nodded easily, the smiles still on their faces. Ichigo's stepped to the Senkaimon and before stepping through he turned back and waved to all of his friends. They all waved back and cheered as he and his new team stepped through the Senkaimon and into the World of the Living.

 

Adalyn glanced around the small room they stepped into. It looked like a guy's room but with a small amount of feminine charm.

 

"I have two sisters. That's why my room looks the way it does. You girls will have to share a room with my sisters if you don't mind." he said turning slightly to look at them.

 

"OK. Hey, don't you need a gigai?" Danni asked looking at her new Captain closely.

 

"No not really. You see, I'm still alive. I still have my body."

 

The three girls stared at him in amazement as he walked down the stairs. They followed him and found him just as he pulled himself into his body. There seemed to be no way that he should have been able to move like he did with it but he had no problems whatsoever.

 

Adalyn was about to say something when a black haired man walked into the room. He looked at the three Soul Reapers in surprise before turning to Ichigo. The question was evident in his eyes; who were the girls?

 

The orange haired young man glanced at the other before answering. His reply seemed to surprise the man and the girls looked really confused.

 

"DAD! Where are you?" a young girl's voice echoed down the stairs.

 

The black haired man flinched at the sound of the girl. After replying to her he moved sheepishly up the steps. Ichigo chuckled softly and said something under his breath. Danni put a hand to her hip clearly wondering who that guy was. Ichigo tried as best he could to give a quick but detailed explanation to his squad members but they still didn't seem to get it.

 

Taking a deep breath Ichigo told them the whole story. The girl who called out was one of his two sisters and the man was his father. His other sister was currently trying to calm the other two down and Ichigo took off to help her.

 

"WHY DO YOU TWO FIGHT LIKE DAD AND I DO? It makes no sense. I really don't get it." Ichigo said pulling his black haired sister away from his father.

 

His father stared at him for a moment before getting up and saying something to Karin. She reacted by kicking him in the stomach. Isshin doubled over while Ichigo shook his head in exasperation. After getting overt the pain he stumbled over to a large poster of a beautiful woman.

 

"Masaki! Your daughter is so mean to me and your son is just as bad!" he wailed putting his hands on the poster.

 

"TAKE DOWN THAT DUMB POSTER!" Ichigo and Karin yelled, both pulling off a shoe and throwing it at him.

 

The two shoes hit their mark and Isshin crumpled. Adalyn and the other girls looked surprised as the black haired man fell to the ground. Danni looked like she was about to start laughing at any moment and Zaku looked really nervous. Ichigo turned and reassured the three of them that everything was OK and that his dad was being his normal, kooky self.

 

"Why is he that strange?" Danni asked, still trying to hold back her laughter.

 

"Ugh. Don't ask me that question. I don't really know." Ichigo replied, looking for Yuzu.

 

He found his youngest sister in the kitchen, trying to stay out of the mini fight that had started in the dining room. She looked up as her brother came in and smiled. The other girls walked in behind him and Yuzu's smile faltered. Seeing this Ichigo explained.

 

"These girls are the members of a new squad of Soul Reapers. Squad fourteen, my squad to be exact. Adalyn is the third seat, Danni is the fifth and Zaku is an apprentice." Ichigo said pointing to each girl in turn.

 

"Oh! I get it! Welcome to the Kurosaki household Adalyn, Danni and Zaku. It's nice to meet you." Yuzu said with a small bow.

 

"It's nice to meet you too." They replied, also bowing.

 

"That reminds me. We need to go see Mr. Hat-n-Clogs and get you guys gigais. Ukitake should have called a head to him and told him what we needed so we should be able to just head over there and pick them up. If not you guys will have to hang out around the house until they're ready." The orange haired teen said pulling a box down from one of the cabinets.

 

"OK. Sounds good to us." Danni said with a smile.

 

"Let's get on with it." Adalyn laughed as she tried to keep Isshin from doing something stupid to Zaku.

 

Ichigo nodded and was about to head for the door when Yuzu stopped him. She gave him big eyes, asking if he would stay long enough to help. He sighed but stepped back into the kitchen to help his younger sister. Adalyn and Zaku also decided to help out while Danni had decided to beat Isshin to a pulp. The oldest Kurosaki had to do a lot of yelling to keep his fifth seat from destroying the house but eventually Yuzu decided to let them go.

 

"Have fun you four!" she called as they left.

 

Ichigo merely raised a hand while the girls in his squad bowed politely and said goodbye. They turned around and found their captain about halfway down the street. Zaku's eyes widened and she scuttled after him. Adalyn and Danni followed at a more docile pace, with Adalyn acting like she could care less if people could see her or not. She easily laced her finger behind her head and relaxed completely. Her red hair that was visible under her black and green hat was blown lightly across her face as she stared into space.

 

Danni, on the other hand, was a little more concerned if she was seen. She walked close to Ichigo and Zaku who were talking easily. Her dark hands combed absently through her brown hair as she glance warily around. Since she wasn't paying attention to Ichigo, who was in front of her, she almost ran headlong into him when he stopped suddenly.

 

"What's up?" she asked looking up at him.

 

"Something's here." was his only reply.

 

The girls braced themselves and Ichigo pulled out Kon's gikongan. He easily popped it into his mouth and popped out of his body. Looking around he drew Zangetsu and assumed a fighting stance. Danni and Zaku drew their swords as well while Adalyn put a hand to her necklace. Then a large Hollow lept out from behind one of the nearby houses with a roar.

 

"Brace yourselves!" Ichigo cried as the Hollow attacked.

 

Danni used shunpo to get on the right side of the evil soul and Adalyn jumped back, squeezing her necklace as she did. By the time she landed a 3-foot Zanpakuto was in her right hand. Zaku looked at her strangely for a moment but was redirected her attention to the fight by a shout from her captain. Danni had landed a blow on the Hollow's left leg but had been thrown backwards as it retaliated.

 

"Zaku! Adalyn! Get on either side of that thing! We need to keep it from moving too far!" Ichigo ordered while he dodged a swinging arm.

 

"Right!" the two young women called back to him, moving to take their positions.

 

Once they were the Hollow was distracted and it's attention was divided between the two girls on either side of it. Ichigo lept forward knowing that they would be fine. Zangetsu was practically humming in anticipation to be in actual combat for the first time in a long time. Adalyn saw him coming and yelled at Zaku to back off a bit. The pale skinned Soul Reaper nodded and moved back about four feet. Their orange haired captain came forward with a roar, swinging Zangetsu as he did. The Hollow shrieked as the black and white blade bit deep into its upper arm. It only seemed to make the beast madder and it swung its arm as hard as it could and sent Ichigo flying.

 

Adalyn and Zaku, seeing their captain go flying, pulled back even farther. The young man staggered to his feet, amber eyes narrowing in frustration. This Hollow was stronger than he was used to. He glanced around and saw Danni getting back on her feet and shaking her head. Making a snap decision he called all three of his squad members to him. They were at his side in less than two seconds. Nodding he ordered them to stay put while he dealt with the Hollow. They stepped back and sat down, but were ready to leap up at a moment's notice.

 

"Alright, you ugly bastard. Its time you took a hike." Ichigo growled as he turned back to the Hollow.

 

Its only response was another defining roar before it charged at him. Smirking the young captain waited until the right moment. Once the Hollow came within ten feet of him he moved. Zangetsu was a blur in his hand despite its size and weight. The corrupted spirit didn't stand a chance. It disintegrated as the Zanpakuto sliced easily through the white mask. Ichigo easily swung his sword again, sheathing it, before putting it on his back and turning to his squad members.

 

Danni and Zaku were staring at him in wonder. Adalyn, on the other hand, was fast asleep. An irk mark appeared on his head and he closed his eyes. Stepping slowly over to her he pushed her over with one hand. She woke up half a second before she hit the ground and grabbed his wrist. The shocked look on her face was well worth the nails in his arm as he pulled her to her feet.

 

"What did you push me over for?" she demanded brushing herself off.

 

"You were asleep and I wanted to wake you up," Ichigo replied. "Now, I need to find Kon."

 

"I'm over here!" and all too cheerful voice called out to them.

 

The girls stared in amazement at Ichigo's body and the massive smile plastered across his face. Ichigo was the only one who noticed a large red mark on the right side of his face. Kon had taken a few liberties with his body while he had been fighting. He silently promised to rip the mod soul apart when he got him home.

 

"Kon, did you go skirt chasing in my body again?" the orange haired captain asked glaring at his body.

 

"Y-yeah… I did…" Kon mumbled looking away.

 

"You are so dead. You do know that right?"

 

"Yeah…"

 

"Good. I need my body back so you dying will wait until we get home and Rukia can help." Ichigo sighed stepping forward and back into his body.

 

"Should we keep going?" Danni asked sheathing her sword.

 

Ichigo nodded and turned around. Adalyn muttered the word "retract" under her breath and her sword shrank back into its necklace form. Zaku watched in amazement as she sheathed her own sword before following her captain. The rest of the day was uneventful, even when the girls met Urahara.

 

The shop keeper barely batted an eyelash at the three girls standing behind Ichigo. He did seem surprised when the orange hired high school student asked if Ukitake had called. After Ichigo started to explain Urahara nodded and told them to follow him. Soon all three girls had gotten their gigais and Ichigo had been about to pay when his cellphone had gone off. It was Ukitake calling to tell him that the gigais had already been paid for and that the ex-Soul Reaper might try to get him to pay extra for them. The orange haired captain glared at the shop keeper and walked out while he was still on the phone. Urahara shrugged and the members of squad 14 had followed their captain out.

 

Dinner was another story. By the time the four of them had gotten back to the Kurosaki household Rukia had arrived and had basically been attacked by Isshin. Ichigo walked in and narrowly avoided being hit by his father, who had been hit full force with Rukia's favorite kido attack, Soukatsui. Her face changed as soon as Ichigo poked his head around the door frame to see if everything was alright.

 

"Hey, can we come in now? Or will there be more flying people that I should be worried about?" Ichigo asked jerking his thumb at his fallen father.

 

"Nope! You guys are safe to come in. Your father just pissed me off is all." Rukia replied with a cherry wave.

 

"Wonderful… I kind of expected that though. Anyway, Yuzu, what's for dinner?"

 

"Come on in and see, Ichi-nii!" the sandy blond haired Kurosaki called from the kitchen.

 

"Great. Come on girls. Let's eat." Ichigo said walking into the house with his hand shoved into his pockets and his three squad members cheering at the prospect of food. Rukia sighed at their reaction; this was going to be a hard squad to handle indeed.


	8. Morning in the Kurosaki House

The next day the three girls of Squad 14 were woken by a loud crashing and banging from their captain's room. Zaku was about to bolt out the door when Karin opened it easily. Seeing the panicked look on her face the dark haired Kurosaki sighed.

 

"Relax a little, Zaku. This is the normal morning routine here. Dad tries to get the drop on Ichi-nii and ends up getting his face smashed in before breakfast. Thank your lucky stars he hasn't decided to try it on you girls yet. Believe me, he will. Eventually." She said turning to head back to her room.

 

A loud shout echoed from Ichigo's room as Isshin was thrown out the window by his son. Adalyn put on a bored expression and climbed out of the tangled mass of sheets that was her bed. She didn't even bother trying to straighten it out; she just walked out the door and down the steps.

 

Danni sighed and pulled her covers up before pulling her dark brown hair into its usual two ponytails on the sides of her head. She then helped Zaku climb out of the hammock that the family had provided her to sleep on. Ichigo promised them that later they would go out and get the youngest member of their squad a normal bed later, so she didn't mind almost tripping every time she had to get up at night. Once the two of them had some semblance of decency the, too, went downstairs. Their red headed comrade was already getting reprimanded by their captain when they got there.

 

"Adalyn, you can't just waltz around my house in a t-shirt and your underwear. It's not right and is downright improper. You really need to put something normal on." Ichigo said pointing back up the stairs.

 

"No chance in hell, Captain." The red head replied lounging back into her chair with an arm thrown over the top.

 

"All right, smart ass, if you aren't going to change then you don't get any food." He said moving to his normal seat with a shrug.

 

That got her attention. Danni and Zaku barely had time to get off the stairs before Adalyn shot back up to their room. Within seconds they heard loud cussing and banging as the third seat tried to get some decent clothes together so that she could eat. Ichigo laughed softly form where he was sitting and shook his head.

 

"I had a feeling that was going to work." He murmured to no one in particular.

 

"Hey, Yuzu, Karin." Danni called lightly as she walked in.

 

"Good morning Captain, Yuzu, Karin." Zaku said softly coming in behind Danni.

 

Ichigo nodded to them but his sisters greetings were forestalled by Adalyn skidding to a stop just outside the kitchen. All of them looked at her with varying levels of surprise as she stood there panting slightly. The sandy blond haired Kurosaki sibling smiled and started dishing out food to everyone.

 

Now that her basic panic attack was over Adalyn walked sedately to the chair on the far end of the table. Everyone else was seated in some sort of order and so far things hadn't gone more out of control than the red head's outburst about breakfast. Then the quiet peace was shattered when Isshin came barreling through the door straight at Ichigo.

 

"GOOOODDDDDD MORRRRNNIIINNGGG FAAAAMMMIIILLLYYY!" he cried flying at the table with a massively idiotic grin on his face.

 

His flight was stopped by two strong blows to his chest. He was thrown backwards into the wall behind him. The force of the shot had knocked all of the air out of him and left a large Isshin-sized crater in the wall.

 

Adalyn blinked and looked at her captain for a minute. At the same time she moved to kick the black haired man Ichigo had moved to punch him. It just so happened that their blows fell in the same spot. Now an irk mark appeared on Ichigo's head and he clenched his fist.

 

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME BARGING IN HERE LIKE A TOTAL MORON?" he cried angrily at his father.

 

"WHY DO YOU TREAT ME SO ROUGHLY SON?" his father yelled back pulling himself out of the wall.

 

"Here they go again…" Karin sighed into her food.

 

"It looks like this fight won't end anytime soon." Yuzu said gazing sadly at her older brother and father.

 

"You got that right." Danni and the other girls agreed.

 

Things only seemed to get worse the longer they were allowed to carry on but a familiar burst of Reiatsu stopped them. Ichigo was the first to realize what it was. His father took his brief moment of distractive as an opening. He got up and threw a right hook at his son's head. The orange haired teen didn't even finch, he just dropped to the ground let his father fly over his head. Isshin barely had time to catch himself before he fell into the table. Karin leaped up as her father sprawled out on the table in front of her. Adalyn also jumped up, but she was sheltering her food.

 

In a matter of seconds Rukia came walking down the stairs fully dressed and ready to step in and end the fight. It was well enough that she had come down when she did; Adalyn had joined in on the fight when her food had been kicked by Isshin's flailing leg, Ichigo was getting out of an Ichigo-shaped hole in the wall, and Karin was shaking her father by the collar of his shirt while screaming bloody murder. The petite Soul Reaper surveyed the scene for half a second before she stepped in.

 

Raising her hand and aiming it at Isshin she called out in a clear voice, "Hado #33: Sokatsui!"

 

The Kido spell erupted forward and slammed into the dark haired man's side. He was torn out of Karin's grip and through the wall opposite the stunned girl. Rukia lowered her hand with a smirk before moving to help Ichigo back to his feet. Adalyn stomped off to give the now limp Kurosaki matriarch a piece of her mind and Danni ushered Zaku back up to their room.

 

"Hey, Ichigo. Don't we still have to go to school today?" Rukia asked letting go of his hand.

 

"Shit." Ichigo whispered running back up to his room.

 

The petite Soul Reaper followed quickly behind him. The rest of the house was soon able to hear Ichigo yelling at and arguing with Rukia. Soon both of them came barreling back down the stairs dressed in their school uniforms. Ichigo briefly scrambled around the kitchen, giving both of his sisters a brief hug before flying out the door after Rukia.

 

Adalyn stared blankly at the area where the two of them disappeared from. Karin snickered and turned to grab her school bag. Only when the red head in front of her turned did she drop the smirk that had begun to occupy her face.

 

"What was that all about?" the red head asked, turning to look at her captains dark haired younger sister.

 

"They may by all powerful Soul Reapers some of the time but the rest of the time, when they are here, they are ordinary high school students." Karin replied.

 

"OK then. Wait, he left before giving us any orders. What do we do now?"

 

"I don't know and, I'm sorry, but I don't care. I have to go to school too, so bye." The dark haired Kurosaki said waving a hand over her shoulder as she left.

 

Yuzu followed shortly after her sister, leaving a stunned red head in the middle of the kitchen. Sighing, Adalyn walked back up to the room she shared with her squad mates a moment or so later. The fifth seat and the captain's apprentice looked up as the door slammed open, revealing their red headed team mate. Danni looked like the was about to say something about Adalyn's attitude and Zaku had a questioning look on her face.

 

"Well, for now our brave captain is gone. Unfortunately he didn't leave any instructions." Adalyn said looking down.

 

"That means?" Danni prompted, still looking irritated.

 

"We can do whatever we want today." the red headed third seat said with a devilish smile.

 

The other two girls hesitated for a moment at the look. Then the meaning of the words hit them. Zaku's eyes brightened and a huge smile split her face and Danni smirked, thinking about how she was going to spend a free day in the World of the Living.

 

"I say we pull a prank on taicho. What do you think?" the third seat asked flopping down on her messy bed.

 

"What kind of prank?" the brunette asked, her interest piqued.

 

"Well, Danni, I think that we should do something that the humans will never forget."

 

"We're likely to get in trouble for it, though." Zaku piped up, her small voice becoming the voice of reason.

 

Shaking her head Adalyn sighed, "Not unless he doesn't know it's us doing it. Kuchiki-san might figure it out but I'm almost positive taicho won't know it's us."

 

Danni nodded slowly as she saw the logical reasoning behind the third seat's statement. It was well known that their captain had a really hard time sensing the spiritual pressure of anyone but his closest friends. After a little bit more prodding Zaku was on their side. She had finally been convinced that they wouldn't be punished by their orange haired captain and was more than willing to help out. Adalyn rubbed her hands together, a devious smile on her face.

 

"This is going to be fun. Now, what to do?" she asked the other two, still smiling like a fox.


End file.
